PRINCIPAL’S CORNER
Dear Parents:
At a time when safety in our schools is foremost in our minds, I would like to reassure you that we have taken the events of the recent past to heart and we continue review all safety policies and emergency procedures at Wahlquist Jr. High School. We are working with the Sheriff’s Department through our School Resource Officer, and also the District to take necessary steps to reinforce the security of our building. All outside doors, except the front doors, will be locked during the school day. All visitors to our building should enter through the front doors and are required check-in at the Main Office. All staff members and visitors in the building will be required to wear ID badges. Security cameras are in place both inside and outside our building and all are in good working condition and a deputy of the Weber County Sheriff’s Department is on staff serving as our School Resource Officer. Please be assured that we have a plan in place in the unlikely event that an unauthorized individual were to enter our building. All staff members have reviewed these procedures since the sad events in Connecticut just weeks ago. Staff members are trained annually regarding the safest way to handle various emergencies at school including procedures to follow in the case of an intruder entering the building. Additional lockdown drills will be scheduled during the next few weeks and security policies will continue to be monitored and updated as authorities advise. The safety of our students is our first monitored and updated as authorities advise. The safety of our students is our first concern. Please assure your student(s) that they are safe here and that we care about each one of them. If you have concerns or questions, please feel free to contact a member of the school administration.
NURSES NOTE
Recent cold temperatures and poor air quality is a health concern for adults and children. School Administrators and School Nurses take this very seriously when making a decision whether to send your children outdoors for recess. Our District follows the Recess Guidance for Schools issued by the Utah Department of Environmental Quality. The guidelines are based on particulate matter (PM 2.5) in the air rather than the Air Action alerts of Green, Yellow, and Red that you see on the local news reports. Parents, with the advice of your health care provider, you should inform the school nurse at the beginning of the school year (or as soon as a diagnosis is made) if you believe your child is part of a “sensitive” group (reactive airway disease, asthma, other lung or heart conditions). An Asthma Action Plan will be created and will be in place for occasions when the air quality is poor. As particulate = matter levels rise, sensitive students will be accommodated as well as students who experience symptoms may be kept indoors. When PM 2.5 levels are 90 ug/m3, all students should be kept indoors. Also, be aware that any child carrying an inhaler at school must have an Asthma Action Plan in place and an Authorization to Administer Medication Form signed by your health care provider. Please remember that elementary students will be playing outside in the cold weather. Send them to school properly dressed with coats, hats, gloves and proper footwear that will keep their feet warm and dry. If they are sensitive to cold air, a scarf to wrap around the mouth and nose is helpful by warming the air before it enters the body. Putting names inside of winter clothing will be very helpful when looking for lost items. For more information regarding air quality and school guidelines, visit http://health.utah.gov/asthma
VISITOR CHECK- IN PROCEDURES
ALL visitors to Wahlquist Jr. High School are required to register at the main office upon arrival. Parents coming to check-out students must checking at the Main Office BEFORE proceeding to the Attendance Office. Please use the main front doors to enter the building during the school day-- other outside doors will be locked. We appreciate your support in helping to keep our schools safe.
Counselor’s Connection
Can you believe we are half way through the year?!?! The kids have accomplished so much and we are heavy into preparations for next year. We just finished up 8th grade SEOPs. We love working with the students and helping them plan what classes they want to take. What course their life/career explorations will take. Ninth-grade parents, keep a look out in the mail for your SEOP appointment card. Fremont pre-registration begins January 31st. We will start SEOPs immediately after. Ninth grade SEOPs will be done in small group with around 15 students per group. We will go over important graduation and class information and then work individually with students. Parents, if you can come we love to have you here! Parents of seventh and eighth-grade students, we are ready to start registration for next year. Eighth-grade parents look for the registration packets for to come home January 22. Please discuss class choices with your student, sign the form, and send it back. Seventh-grade parents, your registration form will come home with your student on February 11. It is a very busy, but exciting time of the year. As we watch students, if grades are going to drop, it will happen third quarter. Sometimes with the short days and long nights, it is harder to get motivated to get everything done. Be sure to watch your students for those signs of winter sluggishness. Discuss what they are learning in classes and what assignments that are coming up. Help them stay organized and motivated. Once they miss an assignment or two, they often feel like they cannot catch up. The key is to keep up with daily assignments and look ahead on larger projects. Break those larger projects into smaller chunks and accomplish them a little bit each day.
If you would like to e-mail a teacher the e-mail addresses are all uniform. Just add the initial of their first name and their last name to the following. @weber.k12.ut.us
Library Corner
Students can access the great subscription databases that the state has paid for by going to the web page: http://pioneer.uen.org. You will need to use the Login id:pioneer and the Password: search. On the Pioneer web page you can feel a lot safer about the searches your students are doing, and you get a lot more specific information than you do with general internet search engines such as Google. The latest list of accelerated reader tests available at Wahlquist is viewable from the Wahlquist web page. Just go to http://ww.wjr.weber.k12.ut.us and click on the Media Center link, then on the accelerated reader link. Anyone that has questions or suggestions for the library can email the librarian at smfuller@weber.k12.ut.us or call 452-4653.
WAHLQUIST JUNIOR HIGH
1033 N.1200 W. Ogden, UT 84404 Phone: (801) 452-4640 Fax: (801) 452-4679 Attendance: (801) 452-4648 Counseling: (801) 452-4647 Kitchen: (801) 452-4651
A BIG THANK YOU, FOR YOUR SUPPORT WITH THE SEE’S FUNDRAISER THIS YEAR. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SERVE OR NOMINATE SOMEONE ON THE PTSA BOARD FOR NEXT YEAR, PLEASE CONTACT.
If you need to email a teacher, go to www.weber.k12.ut.us, then click on schools, then click on Wahlquist, then click on the website, then click on staff to find your teacher’s.e mail.
